Brit arrested for fake ATM card use

A British man arrested on charges of using a fake ATM card is suspected of being part of a larger Pakistani-British fraud ring.

Responding to a call from Krungsri Ayuthaya Bank’s fraud department, police apprehended Robert Patrick Anderson, 51, in front of the Avenue shopping center on Second Road June 2.

Anderson, of Wales, ran when approached by officers. He was corralled while carrying a fake passport identifying him as “Paul John Keegan” from Northern Ireland along with three counterfeit cards.

Robert Patrick Anderson is brought in to face charges of using a fake ATM card.

Police said Anderson claimed his real passport was being held by his boss, a Pakistani-Brit identified only as “Aldy.” The suspect said he, Aldy and two other British men of Pakistani extraction drove from Bangkok, hitting a string of ATMs with fake cards. Police claimed Anderson said he was paid 100,000 for his cooperation.

The other three suspects, who apparently were waiting in a nearby car when police arrived, drove away unmolested and are now the subject of a police search.

This article was published in the Pattaya Mail newspaper on Friday June 15, 2012 (Vol. XX No. 24).